hurricane earl, winds and heavy surf are building, as the

storm moves closer. >> today, warnings for maryland and all along the east coast, to be prepared to evacuate. >> hello again, i'm don scott. and i'm jessica kartalija. >> here's what people are talking about today. a lot of weather-related issues. we, of course, will give you an update on hurricane earl. but first, a school advisory to tell you about now. baltimore county schools will be closing two hours early today, due to heat. baltimore county schools closing two hours early. also, baltimore has canceled all of its afternoon pre-k classes. the major hurricane churning in the atlantic now. the east coast is already feeling the effects now, with lifeguards keeping a close eye on swimmers daring to go out to the surf. meteorologist bernadette woods and tim williams is tracking where earl is right now. andrea fujii has how maryland is preparing for the storm. and manuel gallegus in north carolina, where tourists have

already been told to evacuate. first, bernadette with new information on the evacuation center. we'll get to tim as well. good afternoon, bernadette. >> good afternoon, don and everyone out there. yes, a hurricane watch has been issued for parts of maryland now. that's the issue in the 11:00 update from the national hurricane center. let's get to the weather center. hurricane earl is down to the south, but it's going to pick up speed and move northward. moving to the north. it is a category 3 storm, with winds of 123 miles per hour. any time we're talking category 3 or higher, it's considered a major hurricane. take a look at that track. take its very close to maryland before kicking it back to sea. when we zoom in, we see that cone is just bordering our area, as that storm passes by as a major storm. now, the time frame for us is going to be more so thursday night into friday. then it's really going to kick ought of here to the east, eventually. but the latest we have to update you on is take a look at this pink area.

hurricane watch goes into effect as the storm is approaching us in the next day or so. for more on this, here is tim. >> what we have been doing, of course, bernadette, showed you the latest track. we have been talking about the consistency also of the model. this is what we called the spaghetti plot. it is basically many different models, compiled to show you the different consistencies of the path, where it is expected to move. the other models all have this, moving right on up the east coast, as bernadette mentioned, and moving out to sea. but the consistency here and the collaborative thinking, between all of the models is that it definitely will be moving through. and again, that time frame will be friday into saturday. the beaches all along the east coast, from the outer banks right on up into new england. we need to really be focused on how this storm is going to prove on through. the intensity as it goes on by. not to mention the fact that right behind it, we have fiona. a tropical storm as of the

11:00 update, with sustained winds at 58 miles per hour. fiona is expected to intensify. but then, move a little farther out to sea. not following as closely as earl is. but definitely following through the weekend up the atlantic, where it is expected to lessen its intensity to a tropical storm or even a depression. but moving to the northwest at 17 miles per hour. then we do have another disturbance behind it. this is going to be tropical depression number 9. it has not been named. would be gustav. we'll keep you posted on that. we'll continue to update you throughout the program. >> and live first warning weather continues now with andrea fujii, she is live with more on the precautions being taken. >> reporter: good afternoon, jessica, and good afternoon to everyone. the mayor has ordered all city agencies to be prepared for hurricane earl. meanwhile, governor martin o'malley says he may make the decision today or tomorrow whether or not to evacuate ocean city. >> as rough waters surge in

ocean city, officials there are closely watching earl's path. >> we are monitoring the situation very closely. we have heightened awareness. and should it be necessary, we'll take protective mitigation effort. actions for the city as a whole. >> reporter: baltimore is keeping a close eye on the storm, too. >> i'm telling people to do what they need to do to get their homes ready. whether it's earl or something else down the road. >> reporter: experts warn everyone to have an emergency kit, which includes a flashlight with extra batteries, a three-day supply of water. and a battery-operated radio. also have a family plan in case of evacuation. meanwhile, dangerous conditions in ocean city have already led to 500 rescues and one death. and there are concerns over potential flooding from earl. >> what's going to happen is going to happen. hopefully we're prepared for it. >> reporter: but governor martin o'malley is not willing to call for evacuations yet for the busy labor day weekend. >> nobody wants to scare people away with that reason. but at the same time, in a few

hours, i think we'll have the information we need so that we can advise people with one view and one view only. and that is what is best for the public safety. >> reporter: and two caribbean cruise ships that left for baltimore earlier in the week had skipped some ports of call because of hurricane earl. but none are scheduled to return back early. >> the last time ocean city was evacuated was in 1985. and that was with hurricane gloria. >> the entire east coast is keeping a close watch on earl, of course. two counties in north carolina are already under evacuation orders. and a hurricane warning is in effect for the north carolina coast. as manuel gallegus reports for wjz, millions of people are preparing to leave. >> reporter: lifeguards put out no-swimming signs this morning on north carolina beaches. >> we've got swells starting to really develop from hurricane earl. and so we're going to red flag our beaches, which means we're going to close them to swimmers. >> reporter: with hurricane earl approaching the east

coast, federal authorities have told millions to be prepared to leave. but the slaughter family from pennsylvania is not ready to evacuate. >> this is our vacation for the summer. it's the only week we have. and we're kind of sticking it out here. >> you want to stay? >> absolutely. >> how come? >> i worked 100-hour weeks coming down here. so i want to relax as much as possible. >> riptides and rough surf are making it too dangerous to go into the water. yesterday alone, there were dozens of rescueser hoo. -- rescues here. >> we're going to have to watch for rip currents and watch out for people getting into the water. we don't want that to happen. >> earl is expected to get bigger over the next few days. forecasters fear the storm may turn a bit to the west, and that could put long island and cape cod in its path. >> a lot of people there do not have experience with hurricanes. now is the time to learn what you need to do to protect yourself. >> even if earl doesn't deliver a big hit to land, many will

see powerful waves and rain this weekend. manuel bal l gallegus -- manuel gallegus; wjz. get updates in the forecast. and your own live look at doppler radar. go to wjz.com. a man suspected of running one of maryland's most notorious drug operations is behind bars this afternoon. derek val court is live in the newsroom with more on the arrests. good afternoon, derek. >> hi, jessic a. 26-year-old steve blackwell was arrested on heroin distribution charges. prosecutors say blackwell was at the center of a heroin wing, stretching from maryland to new york, all the way to the dominican republic. the operation has also been linked to several acts of violence. they say two years ago, rival dealers got his brothers, who then retaliated with a fatal shooting in east baltimore. authorities now hope to seize $10 million in assets. >> the goal here is to make sure that drug dealers are not

able to profit at all in their enterprises. >> 34-year-old tahirra carter and 24-year-old joy edison are also charged with involveletment and -- involvement and drug distribution. >> all four face a maximum of life in prison on the charge. a man thought drowned two years ago was actually murdered. 22-year-old engish gupta was found dead in the water in 2008. police arrested 28-year-old wayne black yesterday. police say that black admitted he approached gupta and asked for a cigarette. then shoved him into the water. up until now, gupta's death had been labeled suspicious. another hot and humid day. and as we've already mentioned, baltimore county schools are closing two hours early today because of the heat. take a live look outside right now. it's looking pretty similar to the last few days, but with the exception of more of a humid haze hanging out there. and our livefirst warning

weather coverage continues with marty bass in the outback. and a look at just how high the temperatures are going to climb. good afternoon, marty. >> hello, everyone. i've got part 2 of what in newsweek calls a lead. in other words, very important story you need to concentrate on first. obviously earl. but we can't ignore the fact, this is day number 53 this year, of temperatures above 90 degrees. we've got 90 right now. downtown. by the way, down in the ocean, pretty beautiful right now. we know that's going to change, 91. a closer look around the metro. 86 in westminster. 88, bel air. 90 in columbus. rock hall at 88 degrees. we're all going into the mid- 90s this day. come on back here for a second. but we are not done. tomorrow, we're going to tie the record of 54 days above 90, set in 1988. now, weather on friday, we see diminished forecast in our area. and we may get partly sunny

skies. diminished, as far as the effects of earl goes. even if we get partly sunny skies, we may not get to 90 degrees on friday. but i will guarantee you, before it's all said and done, we're going to crush that 1988 record. as we get the indian summer and temperatures in the 90s, or possibly in the 90s for the next month, month and a half. okay. >> meteorologist bernadette woods, meteorologist tim williams. we're going to be talking about earl. we're going to be talking about these smoldering temperatures and when mold is going to come to an end. we'll do that during the first warning weather segment. >> thank you so much for that relief. still to come at noon. suspicious cargo. why authorities now say they don't expect to charge two men arrested on a flight to amsterdam this week. accusation against the founder of wiki leaks. and we'll be back with your first warning weather forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

defense secretary robert gates met with troops in iraq this morning, as american

combat operations formally came to a close. >> i would say we have moved into the final phase of our engagement in iraq. >> reporter: today, 50,000 american troops begin their mission of advising and supporting iraqi security forces over the next year. politics may be an each bigger issue than security. nearly six montes after holding elections, iraq has yet to form a new government. this morning, vice president joe biden says iraqi leaders are close to an agreement. >> u.s. officials now say the two men detained on a flight to amsterdam this week were not conducting a dry run for a terrorist attack. authorities now say the two men don't even know each other. it was actually the airline that pushed both of their flights and seated them together. investigators found cell phones taped in one of the men's luggage as you recall. but apparently one of the men who did it was keeping the gifts together so they wouldn't rattle around in his bag. and an arrest warrant was

issued last month after a swedish woman told police he had raped her. but the case was dropped last week. now, prosecutors say few information has come to light, while he continues to deny the allegations. still ahead on wjz eyewitness news at noon. take a live look outside. please stay tuned. meteorologist bernadette woods will be back in about 2 1/2 minutes, with your first warning weather forecast. first, let's take a look at today's midday stocks, to be followed by last night's mega millions numbers. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

as a career prosecutor i made decisions on facts not politics. in washington, i'm trying to do the same. that's why i voted to crackdown on wall street and protect the bay. and why i voted against the $3 trillion budget, the big bank bailout, and against the health care bill. you see for me it's not about democrats or republicans it's about common sense and doing what's best for our families. maybe that's why i'm ranked one of the most independent members of congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message.

welcome back, everybody. you can see a little bit of a haze now over the city, as the humidity is increasing since the last couple of days. but the heat is going to remain. and when you factor in that humidity with the heat, it's going to feel hotter out there than it has the last couple of days. and that's why there are early school closings. what we're expecting, still sunshine for today. and temperatures on the way up. but the biggest thing we're going to see over the next day or so has to do with this. it is a hurricane watch that goes into effect. and it starts right now. and that means over the next 48 hours, we anticipate some hurricane-possible conditions. and that's in these counties, light along the beaches. now, today, none.

it will be friday before this is passing. but until then, we also have air quality alerts in effect because of the heat. temperature-wise, overall, we are in the 90s for most of us, with the dew point way up. when you factor those together, it already feels like 94 in baltimore. 93 in d.c. here's how it call comes together. high pressure has been holding strong. it's starting to collapse. and that's because this is moving our way. and hurricane earl. it is this front that is ultimately going to determine the path for earl. at this point, though, hurricane earl is making its way up from the northwest. winds are 127 miles an hour. and it is a category 3 storm. anything 3 or higher is considering a -- considered a major hurricane. we'll take you in a little closer and you see most of the cone now is just offshore as this passes by. but the thing is, it's close enough that we need to be concerned. and that's why a hurricane watch has been issued. we showed you this a little earlier, also. this is a compilation of all of the forecast models. and you can see, for the most

part, they keep it offshore. but the majority keeps it offshore. when this front starts to come in, it will kick it off to the east. the quicker it come in here, the farther off it is. regardless, even if it stays offshore, we anticipate winds winds to really pick up, squally weather. and possible beach erosion. it all comes together like this. it's eventually going to pick up earl. keep away from us at least, but you see the back edge of that does go into baltimore. one more thing to keep you updated on. fiona is a tropical storm. and we have tropical depression number 9. forecast is like this today. today is our quiet day out there. we are getting up into the 90s. and as we head through the increase couple of days, that's when we'll start to see some effects. we got a quick little peek of the five-day. we'll have more coming up. >> stay with us. wjz eyewitness news at noon is coming right back. easy ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

plenty of reasons to check back in, including the weather. a first of its kind ad, promoting medical marijuana. but it's what the addoesn't say that is causing concern. and it is called robotripping. using cold and cough medicine to get high. what the fda is doing to stop teens teens from abusing over- the-counter medications. check in for all of these and breaking news at 4:00. after dr. phil.

>> stay with us. the five-day forecast is next.

welcome back, everybody. here's a look at the five-day forecast, with marty. >> know that tomorrow, we're going to hit the 90s again. we tied that record. the downgrade in the forecast for friday has begun. computers showing mostly cloudy. driving to 89. let's see how it goes tonight at 6:00. saturday, sunday and monday, one thing is for sure. the storm will get out of here. looks like a pleasant labor day

holiday weekend. and now we'll throw it back inside. >> and another csi night. at 10:00, it's csi new york, immediately followed by eyewitness news at 11:00. thanks for watching on eyewitness news, wjz 13, maryland's news station. i'm jessica kartalija. >> i'm don scott. >> i'm bernadetet,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,